"His performances haven’t been up to the required level" - Rio Ferdinand thinks Manchester United captain Harry Maguire needs to be 'taken out of the firing line'

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has stressed that Harry Maguire needs a break after a busy year with England and United.

The England centre-back has had a torrid time at club level this season. In their latest game against Watford, Maguire was sent off for a silly second yellow card. Manchester United eventually lost the game 4-1 which saw manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked the next day.

Ferdinand claims that the defender needs to take a break and get out of the firing line. On his YouTube channel, FIVE, the former Manchester United defender said:

“Harry wouldn’t like to hear this but I just think sometimes you need to be taken out of the firing line. He’s had a long summer, a successful summer with England to a certain degree. He’s played a lot of football, comes back to United and physically and mentally it looks like there’s a hangover there."

Ferdinand stressed that Harry Maguire's performances haven't been up to the level expected recently. He said:

“He won’t take himself out of it, I wouldn’t either, I’d try and play myself through it, but at the moment his performances haven’t been up to the level required, for him, for Man United. The bar he set himself wouldn’t be there."

He further added:

“I saw Gary Neville spoke about it the other day that he was having a nightmare after three or four summers on the bounce playing football for England and Man United and needed time off. I think Harry Maguire is probably at that point right now.”

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Harry Maguire's torrid season with Manchester United continues

Harry Maguire has been on a poor run of form for Manchester United

The red card against Watford on Saturday wasn't the only time Maguire has disappointed Manchester United this season. The club captain has endured a torrid run of form since the start of the season.

It all really started going downhill with a 4-2 loss against Leicester City. Maguire was arguably responsible for three of the four goals that Manchester United conceded.

Furthermore, he had bad runs against the likes of Atalanta, Liverpool and Manchester City, and the list goes on.

Maguire has been heavily criticized by fans and pundits alike. After a great spell with England during the international break, it was expected that he would turn his season around. However, the reality has been far from it.

Solskjaer has now been sacked and Michael Carrick will lead Manchester United for the next few games. That is until the club's board find a manager.

It will be interesting to see if Maguire keeps his place in the team or as captain under Manchester United's new manager.